Enab Baladi – Hassan Ibrahim

Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria in West Africa have become destinations for fighters from Syria, after Ankara began recruiting them through factions in the Syrian National Army (SNA), transporting them from northern Syria to these countries in exchange for financial sums.

Under the banner of the Sultan Murad Division in the National Army, the recruitment and inclusion of fighters and civilians from areas in northwestern Syria take place, then they enter Turkish territory, and from there to West Africa.

The path of this journey is vague in some of its details, which was partly uncovered by Enab Baladi, as the fighters are prohibited from carrying mobile phones, and the last stop for these devices is in the border village of Hawar Kilis in the Aleppo countryside, where fighters are gathered for transport.

Under the banner of Sultan Murad Division

About seven months ago, the Sultan Murad Division led by Fahim Issa began working on sending fighters from northern Syria to these countries via Turkey, for financial sums ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 USD, according to families of fighters who spoke to Enab Baladi.

The process is not limited to fighters within the division’s ranks alone, but it is open to anyone wishing to join, from civilians to fighters in other factions. However, all recruitment details are supervised through the Sultan Murad Division.

The Sultan Murad Division is considered one of the most prominent factions in the Syrian National Army, which consists of three legions. There is no fixed number for its elements, as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (the Syrian National Coalition) stated that it had 80,000 fighters in 2019, while a report by the Middle East Institute, in October 2022, mentioned that the formation combines between 50,000 to 70,000 fighters.

(Left) Fahim Issa, commander of the Sultan Murad Division of the Syrian National Army in northern Syria – November 2019 (Sultan Murad Division)

Underwear only

A fighter who joined the recruitment in Africa told Enab Baladi before reaching Hawar Kilis in the Aleppo countryside and losing contact, that the requirement for those who want to join is an identity or any personal proof (personal ID from the local councils in the Aleppo countryside) or existence of a family registration record for example, and this proof is submitted to the division itself, alongside the phone.

It is not required from the element that he brings anything except underwear, as the division will provide him with his needs from clothing and others, against a sum of $1,500 USD for each month, according to the fighter.

The person met by Enab Baladi was not a military person with any faction during the past two years, and told Enab Baladi that he heard about the recruitment story, asked elements he knows in the division, and they added him to a WhatsApp group of dozens of people, for coordinating the joining.

And he added that the elements wishing to go to Africa gather at a specific point in the Aleppo countryside or Idlib, near the Deir Ballut internal crossing for example, then cars belonging to the Sultan Murad Division come and transport them to the division’s central or to a military point belonging to it.

As for the militaries, the division required them to wear their military uniform along with carrying underwear, while the civilians who joined are not required to wear military uniform when meeting at a specific point for their transportation.

The mission is unclear to the fighter, as there are two narratives according to the information he has. The first is to protect the Turkish bases in Africa, or to guard Turkish exploration teams that have signed contracts with those countries for gold mining there, and the second narrative is fighting.

He mentioned to Enab Baladi that his motivation to go was money to support his family, as he has been displaced from the Hama countryside to Idlib for six years, and there are no job opportunities to secure the minimum necessities of life in northern Syria.

A fighter for the Sultan Murad Division in the Syrian National Army in the Countryside of Aleppo – July 2020 (Sultan Murad Division)

Fixed-term contracts

A source in the Sultan Murad Division told Enab Baladi that the recruitment process in northern Syria is managed by the division commander, Fahim Issa.

The source explained that joining is exclusively through the Sultan Murad Division, even if the elements are within other factions, they must submit their papers to the division itself, and even if a whole faction wants to join, it must affiliate under the name of the Sultan Murad Division.

The source mentioned that the division signs contracts with the elements for durations of six months, one year, and one and a half years, and the destination is Niger, without confirming the existence of other destinations for the fighters, and that the primary purpose is to protect the Turkish bases there.

The source refused to provide any additional information but pointed out that recruitment would expand to include a larger number, and the destination would become five adjacent African countries.

In January 2024, Enab Baladi obtained a list comprising 62 names, with places and dates of birth, of those who went to Hawar Kilis and from there to Turkey and then to Africa, without knowing the final destination.

The ages of the elements range from 20 to 43 years, most of them in this batch were from areas of southern Idlib countryside and northern Hama countryside (Khan Shaykhun, Habit, Latamna, Tremseh, and Qalaat al-Madiq).

A fighter’s family told Enab Baladi that they received two months’ salary from the Sultan Murad Division after their son joined the fight in Africa, and the father said his son underwent a medical examination in Afrin by the Sultan Murad faction, and signed a contract for six months.

The father added that calls with the fighters in Africa are made via the phones of the officers there, to ensure no inquiries or questions except about the person’s health and safety, and to ensure no other information is disclosed.

Enab Baladi contacted the media office of the Sultan Murad Division to get clarifications about the information, but it did not receive a response until the time of publishing this report.

(Right) Fahim Issa, Commander of the Sultan Murad Division of the Syrian National Army, Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party of Turkey, Devlet Bahçeli (center) and faculty member of the Turkish National Defense University, Cemil Ipek – July 17, 2023 (Fahim Issa)

Attractive salaries

The salaries granted to fighters for their services in Africa are high, compared to what they earn in northern Syria or even compared to workers’ wages, as the daily wage of a worker is about 100 Turkish lira (approximately three US dollars), while the recognized poverty threshold is 10,843 Turkish lira, and the extreme poverty threshold is 8,933 lira.

Salaries vary from one faction to another and from one position to another, and in the way they are delivered, whether through the battalion or group commander or by hand delivery at the headquarters, and the salaries reach the operations room in the village of Hawar Kilis in northern Aleppo countryside, which includes leaders in the Syrian National Army and operates in coordination with the Turkish forces.

At the beginning of February, channels and rooms on Telegram (widely used in the region) circulated news about a 100% increase in the salaries of fighters within the ranks of the Syrian National Army, reaching 2000 Turkish lira, without an official decision on this.

According to what Enab Baladi learned from fighters it met, the increase was uneven, ranging between 80 and 90%. Enab Baladi also contacted the Minister of Defense in the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) to verify this increase and clarify the mechanism of granting salaries to the fighters, but it did not receive a response until the time of preparing this report.

A leader in the Syrian National Army, Mustafa Sejari, (currently detained) said that the National Army fighters were granted a 100% increase in monthly financial grants, in addition to financial resources and monthly returns from internal and external crossings after unifying the financial fund and handing over internal crossings to the Military Police administration.

He added that the individual share for National Army fighters in January was 3800 Turkish lira per person, distributed as follows: 2000 lira for the fighter as a monthly fixed grant, in addition to 40 US dollars for external crossings, and 17 dollars for internal crossings (the US dollar equals 33 Turkish lira).

However, the salaries after the increase did not reach the amount mentioned by Sejari, according to three fighters from different factions met by Enab Baladi, with the increase ranging from 600 to 1000 lira, and from 700 to 1300 Turkish lira.

Fighters at the Syrian National Army’s Sultan Murad Division in rural Aleppo – August 2020 (Sultan Murad Division)

Not new

Previously, factions of the Syrian National Army sponsored by Turkey, sent elements to fight alongside the forces of the Government of National Accord in Libya, against the forces of General Khalifa Haftar.

Despite the Syrian National Army denying to Enab Baladi, in 2019, the information about a Turkish offer to send its fighters to Libya, and denying discussing it with the Turkish side, Enab Baladi confirmed the arrival of fighters to Libya, and also to Azerbaijan.

Turkey supports the forces of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord in Libya, and Azerbaijan in its battles against Armenia.

Turkey, in cooperation with the Syrian National Army, executed three military operations inside Syria, namely Euphrates Shield covering areas of Azaz, Jarablus, al-Bab, Marea, and al-Rai; Operation Olive Branch covering Afrin and its surroundings; and Operation Peace Spring covering the cities of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain.